Susan Lorincz, the White woman who shot her Black neighbor through her front door after complaining about the neighbor’s children playing outside, has been found guilty of manslaughter.
Jurors in Marion County, Fla., found Susan Lorincz, 59, guilty of manslaughter by use of a firearm on Friday, Aug. 16, after a week-long trial concerning the June 2023 death of 35-year-old Ajike “AJ” Owens, according to a news release from the Fifth Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office.
The shooting happened on June 2, 2023, after Lorincz claimed Owens’ kids were trespassing on her Ocala, Fla., property and one of the children allegedly threatened to beat her up, according to the 911 call on the day of the incident, which was reviewed .
According to an arrest affidavit obtained by PEOPLE, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office said that over the past several years, Lorincz had become angry at Owens’ children, who would often play in a field close to her home.
In an interview with police, Lorincz admitted to “having used the n-word toward children out of anger in the past and also to calling children other derogatory terms,” according to the affidavit.
Authorities previously said that on the evening of the shooting, Lorincz got into an argument with the children and threw a roller skate at Owens’ 10-year-old son, striking him in the toe, and later swung an umbrella at another son.
“After learning of this, [Owens], accompanied by her 10-year-old son, approached Lorincz’s home,” the affidavit states. “[Owens] then knocked on Lorincz’s door multiple times and demanded that Lorincz come outside. Lorincz then fired one shot through the door, striking Owens in her upper chest.”
Ajike “AJ” Owens.
Ajike Shantrell Owens/Faebook
Lorincz claimed that she acted in self-defense, according to authorities, and that Owens tried to break down her door prior to the shooting. Lorincz also claimed that Owens had come after her in the past and had previously attacked her.
During the investigation, authorities spoke to neighbors who reported that Lorincz was constantly harassing the children for playing near her home. One neighbor claimed to officers that Lorincz called in “false reports on them,” the affidavit states.
The sheriff’s office later said investigators determined that “Lorincz’s actions were not justifiable under Florida law,” and she was arrested on a manslaughter charge.
Despite a plea from Owens’ family to bring murder charges, State Attorney Bill Gladson cited “insufficient evidence” to proceed with a charge of second-degree murder, a first-degree felony.
“My obligation as State Attorney is to follow the law in each case that I prosecute,” he said in a statement in June 2023. “I did so in this case, and while some may not agree with that decision, I can assure you that the decision was thoughtful and made without consideration of any factors other than the specific facts of this terrible crime.”
On a GoFundMe campaign created to support Owens’ four children, the single mother was remembered for her “infectious personality” and as someone who had a “smile that would light up the room.”
“This case is undoubtedly a tragic reminder of the devastating consequences of gun violence,” Gladson said in the news release. “The defendant’s choices have left four young children without their mother, a loss that will be felt for the rest of their lives.”
Gladson added, “While today’s verdict can’t bring AJ back, we hope it brings some measure of justice and peace to her family and friends.”
